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Topic : 06/11 Wasted Youth

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Created on : Thursday, February 05, 2009, 03:16:53 pm

Author : DrPhilBoard1

(Original Air Date: 02/09/09) “If you’re somebody who uses drugs, you do drugs recreationally, or you have a child who’s experimenting with drugs because ‘That’s just what kids do,’ or ‘Everybody does it,’ please sit down with me in the next hour, pick up the phone right now, call a friend, call two, tell them to tune in, get your child next to you on the couch,” Dr. Phil tells his viewers. Stephanie was an aspiring songwriter who loved taking care of kids. Diana was a preschool teacher with a bright future. Neither one of these women knew they could end up addicted to drugs, on the brink of death. They face Dr. Phil to ask for help, but do they really want out of their drug-crazy lifestyles? Does Stephanie deserve a second chance? Don’t miss this intense intervention. Plus, former Dr. Phil guest and addict lifeline, Joani, celebrates a milestone and receives a momentous surprise.

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02/09 Wasted Youth

Dr Phil's help might end up wasted on this show's guests, but it certainly wasn't wasted on Joani. She's helped so many other drug addicts since receiving his help. I hope these guests will let her help them.

What causes addiction?

I so desperately wish we could figure out what causes people to become hooked on drugs. Is it desire? Is it curiosity? Is it a chemical imbalance? Is it rebellion? Is it peer pressure? Is it boredom? Is it all of the above?

I've watched many of my cousin's lives wrecked b/c of alcohol/drug addiction. It just makes me wonder what exactly is going on in their minds-and do they really have control or not? But more importantly what do they need from me as far as help? I've watched many episodes of Intervention and it always seems to me that the addict has to meet the families requests, when it should be the other way around and they should meet in the middle. Why not ask the addict that will help them, you know? I'm no expert and that's painfuly obvious. I guess that's where the "tough love" comes in.

25 YEAR OLD ON DRUGS

My 25 year old son in addicted to, I'm not sure what all he is addicted to. Right now he is in the detox center in Kannapolis, NC and will be released on Feb. 11. This is the second time he has been there since December 31. He spent 5 days there and was sent to Winston Salem to the rehab for 14 days. He was released from there and went right back to doing drugs within a 2 week time frame. Brandon has been on drugs for about 6 years now and has stolen my personal belongings and I had him arrested about 2 years ago. The judge dropped it to a mistimeaner and let him out on bond. Brandon was put on probation for 2 years. This did not work due to the prob. officer and Brandon. He was to be tested every time he went for a visit and was to have a job. None of this was enforced. Brandon finally asked to the be violated and spent 2 months in jail. He came out and wanted to go live in Locust, NC with his Grandmother with all intention of starting over. Brandon went right back to drugs within a year. He has overdoesed 2 times, one time where his heart stopped. Brandon thinks that his family puts to much into what his doing. My mother has kicked him out of her house, i won't let him come back here because i have two teenagers I have to raise and my 17 year old son doesn't want him here because all he has done in the past. I don't know what else to do for Brandon. I know I can't make him quit, but how do you make them realize that what they are doing WILL KILL THEM SOMEDAY.

Drug Abuse

Drug abuse is a bigger problem than any of us can imagine. I used to work in a welfare-to-work program. Almost all the participants were past drug abusers or were currently using. I am not saying that people on welfare automatically use drugs. It is hard to help someone get a job when they can't pass a drug test.

tough

as i watch this show, it breaks my heart. I used to be there as an adict myself. I see myself some in their stories. I have been clean for 3 years now, and I now see some of the other side. I see the hurt that I put people through. I have gaps in my past that I don't remember or that are fuzzy. I hope for all these people's sake that they can make it this time. because i believe that it is do or die now for these people.

repeating the use

I am a sister in-law to a family of heroin users a mother and three grown children all under one roof use or have used, also the daughers 5 small kids live there with them , plus I am a grandmother to a baby whose father is a heroin addict. They all have rehabbed and or went to jail and then got off of it. But all have relapsed, the in-laws several times. It seems that they always find an excuse why life is to hard. Something bad happens and they choose to go back to drugs. Well there will always be bad thing happening in life..they need counseling on how to deal with bad things so they have a new way to cope. Life will not always be great, they need to understand that. Or, do they look for a reason to relapse. It sure seems that heroin is the hardest of all drugs to kick. How sad it is to see these people keep rebounding. And so sad for my granddaugher to have a father like this.

Con-addicts

Dr. Phil

I'm afraid these drug addicts are coning you. They like the drugs too much to stop. On todays show you could see that this girl has no plans of quiting. Sure a stay in a nice rehab is a great opportunity to meet other drug addicts from formidable backgrounds. I would even take you up on that. To quit a severe cocaine habit, one must have a genuine desire. If that exists there is no need for rehab. Only an enviornmental change. This occurs naturally if a person is serious about quiting. I have been there and done it on my own without help from anyone except for my faith in God. This is something you do for yourself. You decide you want to live and you declare war on your addiction. Instead of your friend it is now your enemy. You associate it with the destruction of everything good. This is the only way you can win the daily struggle. One day at a time turns into one week, one month, one year and so on. It's a no brainer.

The girl on the show today will be in rehab only for as long as she is entertained. I would be surprised if she lasts 2 weeks. I wish I had all the money people waste on these expensive rehabs. Only to get out and start the party all over again.

I am just an ordinary person and if I could quit a 5 year intervenious cocaine habit on my own then anyone can. Don't let these addicts con you into thinking that they can't control themselves. They know exactly what they are doing and there next fix is the only thing on their mind even if it means a short stay in rehab. or being on a national tv show. All this tells me is that they are out of avenues to get their drugs and will do absolutely anythng to keep the party going. Like the old notion that bad attention is better than no attention.

I have had many drug addict friends and each handled their addiction in different ways. Most are dead now because they didn't want to live. Not because of their addiction. They didn't want to live when they started using drugs. The drugs made an unwanted life bareable. Truly lost souls. Very sad.

In most cases the sucess storys are a result of someone showing the person that they are really loved at a time when the person thinks they have been shunned.

You do great work in this area. Keep up your relentless attack on life's little demons. It's nice to know that someone cares about our brothers and sisters who have fallen from the flock.

Addiction

There is a big difference between wanting to quit and being ready to quit. I am a junkie. Clean since 1988. Every time I said I would quit shooting cocaine I meant it. I wanted to quit....until the next time I used. Even after I was evicted and had to send my children to live with their dad I didn't quit. I said I wanted to, and thought I meant it.....until I used again. I still went to work each day. That was part of my income for drugs. I was not a thief and did not prostitute myself. But my boyfriend was the one that stole, from his mother and from me. He was the one that got me started on coke. We had fun for about a year and a half. And it was him that caused me to quite. He started to become violent with me when he was drunk. He told me I had to leave, for my own safety. My parents lived in another state and were not fully aware of my problems. They told me to come stay with them to get my life straight. They met me half way and I followed them the rest of the way back to their house. They never asked me to talk about what went on. After a few months, I got a good job. My family was a big support. I got my kids back and have remained coke free ever since. The thing is, the desire never leaves you. It is always very close by. It took me leaving the place of my drug use for me to stay clean. Even now it is a struggle. I did change addictions, I went back to my original addiction, FOOD!!!!

Wasted Youth

As a recovering crack cocaine addict, I can totally empathize with these woman. I started using marijuana at the age of 14 and first tried cocaine at the age of 17. By 18 I was addicted to crack. For the last 10 years of my life I was a drug addicted prostitue. I thought there was no way out. I attempted to commit suicide this November and when my sister found out I ended up moving 4500 km ( about 3000 miles) to an island on the other side of the country (I am Canadain).

The attempted suicide is what changed my thinking. I have not craved drugs with the intensity that I once craved them.

I regret wasting the last 10 years of my life on this drug, but having this disease requires patience & understanding. I have been sober for just over 2 months now & I can only hope that life on the island will keep me sober...& alive